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BBC Music Magazine

Christopher Monks is rapidly establishing himself as a choral conductor of enormous flair, who can communicate his vision of the music to his performers with eloquence and precision.
Music and Vision.com

Armonico Consort was launched in September 2001 at a sell out concert with Emma Kirkby, a group specialising primarily in baroque and renaissance music, with nine concerts in the first season. They now have overthirty-five engagements in the forthcoming season, including bookings from around the country, and have received critical acclaim for a number of performances

Concerts this season have included performances of Handel’s Messiah (Warwick Arts Society’s Winter Concert Series with Emma Kirkby), and Bach’s St Matthew Passion. Future concert plans (see our advert in the brochure for special promotions) include Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 (Warwick Arts Society’s Early Music Series), a world premiere recording of the music of Francesco Scarlatti on the Deuxelles label and their Wigmore Hall debut performance. There are also plans for a fully staged version of Purcell’s ‘The Fairy Queen’ to tour the country.

'Orchestra of the Baroque' was founded in April 2003 and will be drawing from only the country's finest players to form a first class period instrument orchestra for the Midlands. In addition to performing with Armonico Consort for concerts, tours, broadcasts and recordings, the orchestra is already much in demand throughout the Midlands.

The Consort believes that all children are entitled to a free first class musical education, and though our education outreach programme, employing only the finest workshop animateurs, we concentrate on the creation of and participation in music and singing by young children at schools in and around Warwickshire and the West Midlands. By next year, almost 5000 children will have benifited in some way from our outreach work.

Christopher Monks is a conductor, organist and pianist whose work takes him around the UK and Europe. Founder and Artistic Director of Armonico Consort since 2001, has received critical acclaim for his performances of music of different genres, but most especially his interpretation of music from the baroque and renaissance periods.

Having been organ scholar at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, he studied under David Hill as organ scholar at Winchester Cathedral. In addition to conducting Armonico Consort and the Derwent Singers, an award winning chamber choir based in Derby, Christopher plays the organ with groups such as the CBSO. He has featured on over 15 CDs and is heard regularly on on BBC1, the world service, and BBC Radio’s 2, 3 and 4, and Classic FM.